258 NATURAL HISTORY. 



Nanus), Lima Bean (Phascolus Lunatus), etc. The 

 handsomest of the species is 



The Fire Bean, Turkish Bean, which, found in the 

 warmer portions of America, blooms throughout the 

 whole summer, even until late in autumn. It is consid- 

 ered very ornamental, and cultivated on account of the 

 rare beauty of its deep-red flowers ; seeds white or purple 

 spotted, and very large. O . 



The Tamarind Tree (Tamarindus Indicus) is a very 

 high tree, which, in the East and West Indies, Arabia, 

 and Middle Africa, is planted in front of houses, as the 

 linden is in Europe. The crown is very broad and 

 leafy ; the leaves oblong or oval. The flowers are white, 

 and hang in small clusters. To thes3 flowers follow dark 

 brown pods or legumes, about four inches long ; within 

 these shells, which are very brittle, is found a pulpy 

 mass of an acid taste, that is used either as medicine or 

 a refrigerant in fevers ; in the East, however, it is boiled 

 into a syrup with sugar, and used as a delicious pre- 

 serve. 



St. John's Bread Tree (Ceratonia siliqua) is a bush 

 found very frequently in Southern Europe and the East ; 

 sometimes, but rarely, grows to the height of an ash; 

 leaves evergreen and feathered ; leaflets smooth and oval ; 

 flowers red, and hanging in racemes or clusters. The 

 fruit is a reddish-brown fleshy pod. about four inches 

 long, which contains a sweet, mucilaginous substance a 

 kind of vegetable marrow ; the seeds or kernels are dark 

 brown, and very hard. The fruit is used in Germany 

 either fresh or dried ; known as St. John's Bread. In 

 Spain it is used to feed horses, and in Egypt they pre- 

 pare a kind of honey from the juice. '?. 



The Gum Acacia (Acacia gummifera). Leaves twice 



